A Few of My Favorite Things
by PizzaNSunshine
Summary: On a rare stormy evening, Queen Elena worries to Mateo about their children who should be sound asleep. One by one each child finds their way to their parent's side, resulting in a serendipity evening of bedtime laughter, fun and cuddles. Family fluff.


_**A/N - Story inspired by artwork created by Missnobodynobodius on tumblr and The Sound of Music. Cover artwork by lovelyrugbee on Tumblr. Eleteo children OCs created by myself and lovelyrugbee**_

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"Do you think they'll be ok?" Elena worried as she tugged the bed covers over her shoulders and curled into Mateo's side. She wrapped an arm across his chest, nestling her head in her favorite indentation between his neck and shoulder. The cares and stresses of yet another day as the sovereign ruler of her kingdom slipped away in favor of the overwhelming peace and contentment she found in her beloved's arms.

Chuckling quietly, Mateo blew out the lamp on their bedside table, sending the room into darkness, before sliding an arm under her shoulders and pulling her close as he said, "It's just a little thunderstorm, and they're pretty brave–– kind of like their mother." He kissed her hair and rubbed his hand in soothing circles on her back, "They'll be fine, mi amor."

She knew he was right. The children had slept through worse storms than this. Elena herself had never been frightened by such things, but motherhood was funny that way. It had changed her perspective so thoroughly that she found herself constantly worrying over the smallest details in the lives of her children—worries she would have brushed aside when her own mother had voiced similar concerns in what often felt like a previous life.

Blinding light flashed through the high arching windows, throwing every crevice and shadow into sharp relief as a crack of thunder boomed. Elena flinched, holding onto Mateo just a little tighter as she felt it's vibrations echoing in her chest.

"Maybe I should just go check on—" Elena started, moving to sit up, but Mateo's arms tightened around her.

"You worry too much, _mi amor_. They'll be fine, but—" Mateo assured her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her temple. Her cheek. And finally settling at her ear, he breathed, sending a shiver down her spine, "—what about me? I'll miss you if you go."

Catching onto his mood, her lips curved into a crooked, feline grin. "Mmm…" she said, her head turning towards the sound of his voice, her mouth brushing the skin of his jaw, his check, seeking out his lips in the darkness. "And you call me the minx––" Drawing him in for a deep, lingering kiss, she murmured, "Well, we wouldn't want you to be lonely, now would we?"

Lightning flashed and thunder crashed outside the castle, but Elena barely noticed, so distracted she'd become. Until the small click of their bedroom door opening and closing again caught her attention.

"Did you hear something?" she whispered, peering over Mateo's shoulder towards the darkness shrouded door.

"Maybe?" Mateo said, uncertain. Gesturing towards the lamp, he murmured something under his breath and a flame flickered to life within the glass container.

"Have I ever told you how handy being married to a wizard is?"

"Maybe once or twice in the last 13 years."

Elena laughed as she glanced at the door. Eyebrows furrowed, she said, "Huh, there's nothing there. I could have sworn I heard––"

Mateo stopped her with a nudge to her shoulder, pointing quietly to the foot of their bed. Elena followed his gaze and had to hold in her laughter as she spied the shock of dark curls poking over the edge of the footboard.

Exchanging an amused glance with Mateo, Elena raised an eyebrow and called out, "Julian?"

Small fingers gripped the footboard as a pair of wide amber eyes peeked over the edge of the wooden frame, blinking at her.

Elena could see that he was torn, knowing he was supposed to be asleep, but something had driven him to his Mami and Papi's bedside. Her heart ached just a little as she had a shrewd suspicion about what exactly had driven her youngest child from his bed.

"What's the matter cariño?" she asked propping herself up on an elbow.

Her suspicion was confirmed when he blinked, flinching violently as a flash of lightning accompanied by a booming clash of thunder shook the castle, sending him diving below the edge of the bed.

"Nothing's the matter, Mami," his muffled voice said from where she was certain he'd hidden in the folds of the blanket peeking from the bottom of the bed frame.

"Are you sure?"

His head peeked up again over the foot of her bed and he nodded, wide eyed, smiling crookedly. The gesture reminded Elena fondly of Mateo in years past when he'd so often worn the same smile in his attempt to lighten the mood when he was uncomfortable about something. She knew he was trying to act like a big brave boy even though he was clearly terrified.

Elena simply sat up and smiled, opening her arms, inviting him into her lap. "Well, I'm kind of scared with all of this loud thunder. Could you come up here and help your Papi keep me safe?"

Julian's face lit up like a beacon and he stood, running to her side and scrambling up on the bed. He snuggled into her lap, wrapping his little arms around her middle.

Smiling warmly, Elena couldn't help the familiar warmth flooding her heart. The warmth she felt whenever she thought about how much she loved being "Mami" to her children.

Mateo smiled, sliding his arm around both of them and reached over to ruffle Julian's hair. "What about your sisters?" he asked. "Do you think they'll need us to keep them safe too?"

"Nope! They're brave!" Julian said quickly.

Another crash of thunder sent Julian flinching into his mother, hiding his little face in her chest. She hugged him close, though they all three jumped when a shrill squeal sounded just before the bedroom door flew open and slammed shut, a little girl in a flowery purple nightgown pressing her back against it, her eyes shut.

Elena and Mateo exchanged another silent look as they watched her, hand over her heart, breathing hard, a little harder than would be expected. Mateo raised an eyebrow and Elena pressed her lips together to refrain from laughing out loud at her six year old daughter's dramatics.

"Bianca?" Mateo said carefully, as if handling volatile potion ingredients.

Her eyes flew open and she straightened, as if just realizing she had an audience.

Julian, never letting go of his mami, looked over his shoulder and said innocently, "Are you scared too, Bee?"

Glaring at her brother, she put her little hands on her hips, stomping as she shouted, "No, Jul-i-an! I'm mad! How will I ever get my beauty sleep with all of this racket?"

Elena met Mateo's eye and though they tried to keep a straight face, for it was never a good idea to laugh at Bianca when she was in a temper, they burst into laughter.

Face reddening, her attention snapped to her parents—Elena wondered momentarily if looks could truly kill. Because the fierce glare Bianca unleashed on them could give any double edged sword a run for its money, sharp as it was. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect and Elena's laughter doubled.

"Why. Are. You. Laughing. At. Me?!" she screeched. The screech quickly turned into a squeal, however, as the lightning once again flashed and thunder clapped. Abject terror written all over her face, she ran to the bed where she flung herself into her father's arms, burying her face in his chest.

Mateo held his youngest daughter close, grinning crookedly at Elena, his words written plainly in his eyes.

 _Ok, maybe they're not quite that brave yet._

Elena pursed her lips to keep from giggling out loud, raising an eyebrow.

 _Should I say 'I told you so'?_

 _That won't be necessary, I'll make it up to you later._

Elena's returning grin was positively wicked, setting Mateo's cheeks to blushing. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention to the trembling child in his arms.

"It's ok Little Bee. I've got you," he murmured quietly, stroking her hair.

"Mmphhltpmmssrd," came the muffled reply.

"What was that?" Mateo asked, a smile in his voice, "I don't quite understand muffled speak."

Bianca raised her head a little, peering at her father with wide green eyes and leaned up to his ear, whispering loudly, "Maybe I'm a little bit scared."

"It's ok," Mateo whispered back, just as loudly, "I won't tell anyone."

"Well," Elena said brightly, "Since you're all here, I wonder how Ana's doing on her own? What do you think? Should we go check on your sister?"

"Nah," Julian said confidently, "Lulu's braver than all of us put together!" His little voice resonating his admiration.

CRASH!

Another flash of lightning and thunder clap sent the children ducking into the cover of the blankets followed immediately by the jingling doorknob. Everyone looked to the door as Ana Lucia burst through, slamming it shut behind her. She froze, standing tall with a sheepish grin on her face—though her eyes showed clear signs of fear—her hands clasped behind her back as she saw her entire family watching her.

"Hi—uh—I was just checking on the babies, you know. Making sure they were ok in the storm!"

"Who are _you_ calling a baby?" Bianca asked from where she was still curled up in her father's arms, eyebrows furrowed in indignation, glaring daggers at her big sister.

Ana opened her mouth to retort when Elena interjected, "You don't need to answer that, Ana. As you can see, everyone is fine. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm ok—" Ana looked uncertainly at her family snug on the bed, but squealed, crouching down with her hands over her head as another crash of thunder startled her.

Smiling sympathetically at her eldest daughter, Elena said, "Well, we're having a little family slumber party and it just wouldn't be complete without you, so why don't you join us?" She patted to the space in the bed between her and Mateo.

Ana smiled widely and ran to hop on the huge bed, landing on her knees, laughing as she bounced across to the open space her parents made for her.

"Ugh, stop it Lu! You're bumping everyone around!" Bianca grumbled as Julian giggled and began bouncing in Elena's lap, trying to imitate his big sister.

All three kids squealed, flinching when yet another loud boom shook the castle.

"Why does it have to be so loud?" Bianca moaned, glaring daggers at the ceiling, as if it alone was responsible for the raging storm beating upon the castle walls.

"And scary!" Julian said, his voice muffled from where his face was still buried in his mami's shoulder, his little arms wrapped tight around her neck. "I don't like it," he whimpered.

"Aww, it's not so bad Julian," Ana said sweetly, rubbing his back. "Don't be scared. I won't let anything happen to you."

Elena exchanged a smile with Mateo, both of them swelling with pride as they observed their eldest daughter comforting her little brother. Rambunctious and wild though Ana Lucia often was, she possessed a kind, compassionate spirit.

"How are you gonna protect him, Lulu?" Bianca piped up, laughing, "You're just as scared as he is!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Elena smirked. Of course, feisty little Bianca was going to poke at her older sister. From the moment she made her grand entrance into the world, she had been a free spirit with a soul of wildfire and her own opinion on just about everything. She did not appreciate being mothered by her older sister and never lost an opportunity to remind Ana that she was a kid just like them.

"You know," Elena spoke up, interrupting the bickering before it could get too out of hand. "I have a secret," she whispered dramatically putting one arm around Ana and still holding Julian with the other, "that I use whenever I feel unhappy."

Julian looked up at her with wide eyes full of adoration. "Wow! What kind of secret, Mami?"

"It's a little trick my mami taught me when I was your age. If I'm scared or upset, I just think about nice things!"

"Like what kind of nice things, Mami?" Bianca asked curiously.

"Oh, I don't know," Elena hummed thoughtfully, eyes turning up to the ceiling as she pursed her lips for dramatic effect. "Like chocolate fountains and Abuela's fresh pan dulce. Or warm Ana snuggles," she squeezed Ana close, "and Julian wiggles." She poked Julian under the arm, earning a chorus of shrill laughter from the little boy now thrashing in her lap.

"What else? Hmm...there's Bianca giggles," as if it were a practiced cue, Mateo poked her tummy, eliciting a giggle from the little girl in his lap.

"And lots of laughter and cuddles and kisses," Elena continued with a grin, leaning over to meet Mateo's lips resulting in an exasperated groan from Ana who was stuck between them.

"And Jaquins that soar o'er the bay on their wings, these are a few of my favorite thing," Elena finished in a singsong voice.

"Where have I heard that song before?" Mateo asked curiously.

Shrugging, Elena winked, saying, "I don't know. An old musical? Or maybe I just made it up?" Looking around at the children, she said, "Ok, now it's your turn. What are some of your favorite things?"

"Mami tickles!" Julian shouted with peals of laughter as Elena gave him all the tickles he could stand.

"Shoulder rides from Papi!" Bianca squealed, scrambling to her feet and climbing up onto Mateo's shoulders.

"Jumping on the bed!" Ana cried out, bouncing in place, eyes twinkling with laughter.

"What about you, _mi amor_?" Elena asked Mateo, smiling softly at her lifemate beside her.

"Oh, well," Mateo said slowly, "how about my favorite tamborita? Or the smell of ancient spell books? The feeling I get when I cast a new spell for the first time?"

"That's no fun! That's just magic stuff!" Bianca protested, nose wrinkled in distaste. Even at such a young age, magic was her least favorite subject.

"Oh?" Mateo laughed. "Is that so? Well, now that I think about it, there's also my beautiful queen," he brushed a soft kiss to Elena's cheek before continuing, "My kind and loving son," he reached over to ruffle Julian's hair. "And my bright and energetic daughter." Ana giggled as he tweaked her nose.

Elena had to force herself not to laugh when Mateo went quiet, his lips quirked into a roguish grin as he waited expectantly for—

"Wait!" Bianca cried out in outrage, "What about me?"

"What about you?"

"I'm your favorite too Papi! Aren't I?" she asked, the reproach in her tone fading to doubt with a hint of sadness.

Mateo and Elena laughed, for this was exactly how they knew she would react to his teasing. "Of course," Mateo said gently, reaching up to pull her down from his shoulders, cuddling her in his lap, "I could never forget my precocious Little Bee." He smiled warmly, looking around at his little family.

"You know what else I love?" Ana said.

"What's that, mijita?"

"Stories about you and Papi from before we were born."

"Oh really?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Mmmhmm," Ana nodded, looking expectantly at her mother.

"Ooh! Tell us a story, mami!" Julian cried out, "Please?"

"Pretty please with sugar and pan dulce on top?" Bianca echoed.

"You better tell them a story, amor. You're outnumbered." Mateo chuckled.

Laughing, Elena said, "Ok, fine. But it's getting late, so everyone needs to lie down and try to go to sleep, deal?"

"Deal!" chorused the three little voices as Ana, Bianca and Julian crawled under the covers between their parents. Mateo lay on his side facing Elena, watching her with just as much eager expectation as the children.

 _Aye, dios mio, no pressure, right?_ she laughed inwardly as she arranged herself so she was lying comfortably on her side, propped up on one elbow.

"So the story I'm going to tell you takes place on a day much like today—dark and stormy. Your Papi and I were playing olaball with our friends downstairs in the entrance hall—"

"Wait!" Ana interrupted, wide eyed, "You played _olaball_ in the castle?! That's against the rules! I bet abuela was mad!"

Mateo grinned crookedly, "It was against the rules, though abuela was only really upset that we played without her."

"I still remember the sweet, innocent act you put on for her when we got caught!" Elena chuckled.

"It wasn't an act! I was terrified! Your abuela can be scary sometimes!"

Everyone laughed at that, knowing just how much truth his words possessed.

"Anyways," Elena continued, "this is the story of the dark and stormy afternoon long ago when your Papi and I, and our friends found a hidden Maruvian ruin beneath the castle and ended up cursed."

As Elena launched into the story, she watched the sweet faces of her children transition slowly from rapt attention to slow blinks as they tried to stay awake to sleepy yawns as, one by one, they all three drifted away to the land of dreams.

Voice trailing off, she watched the now peaceful forms of her beloved children as they slumbered comfortably in the middle of her bed.

Looking up at Mateo she grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Not quite what we'd planned for the evening, _mi amor_."

Mateo shrugged, "Eh, this was better in some ways."

"That is true," she conceded. "Do you think we should move them?"

"Nah, let them sleep. There's plenty of room for all of us—just this once."

Elena nodded, burrowing herself down into the covers as Mateo blew out the lamp. Though he felt so far away and she would miss his arms around her that night, she couldn't help but feel thankful that she got to spend such a serendipity precious time with a few of her most favorite things—the precious family she loved with every inch of her being.

And with that happy thought at the forefront of her mind, Elena drifted off to sleep— a soft, contented smile upon her lips.

The room was filled with silence, for the storm had passed.

All was well.


End file.
